BURLINGTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that on January 28, Andrew Chaves, 25, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Christina Reiss to a term of two years’ imprisonment to be followed by a one-year term of supervised release. Chaves previously pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft.
Andrew T. Chaves, 25, grew up in Hardwick, reported Vermont News Firsts’ Mike Donohue in the January 30 Caledonian Record.
According to court records, Chaves stole two federal government vehicles from November 2023 to January 2024. He took one vehicle from a U.S. Forest Service facility in Manchester, and another from a U.S. Army facility in Lodi, N.J. Chaves drove both vehicles through multiple states, including Vermont, while making unauthorized purchases on credit cards he had stolen. As part of his plea, Chaves has agreed to pay over $25,000 in restitution to the United States government and his other victims. The statute of conviction prescribes a mandatory sentence of two years’ imprisonment consecutive to all other sentences. Chaves has pending state charges in Vermont, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.